Russian Tortoise Life?

[Grace-Sophia]

Hey all! So I have a 19-year-old Russian tortoise, I love him so dearly and want to spend the rest my life with him, my vet said that the Russian tortoises live for about 30 years, is this correct information? Does anybody have any records of them living longer? I’ve read some that are 50 years I’ve read some that are 100 years, which is to trust?

 

[Ray--Opo]

From what I have read a RT in the wild averages about 100 yrs.
A RT in captivity averages 40 to 50 yrs. But they have been known to exceed that.

 

[TammyJ]

I thought that in general with excellent care, tortoises live longer in captivity. But I think in any case it's longer than 30 years?

 

[TaylorTortoise]

Hey all! So I have a 19-year-old Russian tortoise, I love him so dearly and want to spend the rest my life with him, my vet said that the Russian tortoises live for about 30 years, is this correct information? Does anybody have any records of them living longer? I’ve read some that are 50 years I’ve read some that are 100 years, which is to trust?

Such a beauty.

 

[wellington]

I have always seen 80 years.

 

[biochemnerd808]

I think the range of 30-50 years is statistically skewed by the many imports that die in the first 5 years of captivity due to bad husbandry.
RTs are definitely capable of living dor 80 years and longer. Some in the UK are older than that.

 

[Tom]

Hey all! So I have a 19-year-old Russian tortoise, I love him so dearly and want to spend the rest my life with him, my vet said that the Russian tortoises live for about 30 years, is this correct information? Does anybody have any records of them living longer? I’ve read some that are 50 years I’ve read some that are 100 years, which is to trust?

No one knows the answer to this question. Not for Russians and not for any other species. Any number given is either a made up guess or someone repeating someone else's made up guess.

I know of 100 year old tortoises that are still producing viable offspring every year.

We haven't been keeping them long enough, and record keeping over periods of decades is exceedingly difficult. With a few exceptions, captive breeding wasn't common until the early 90s, and those babies were started all wrong and too dry, yet some are alive and well today. If we succeed in keeping detailed records for many decades over many human generations, we will begin to have a better idea about tortoise lifespan in the next couple hundred years. No one reading this will be around to see it.